Media Advisory: 14 December 2012

Ngudjolo Chui case: ICC Trial Chamber II to deliver verdict on 18 December 2012

ICC-CPI-20121214-MA135

Situation: The Democratic Republic of the Congo
Case: The Prosecutor v. Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui 

On Tuesday, 18 December 2012, Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will deliver its decision on the innocence or guilt of Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui pursuant to article 74 of the Rome Statute – the Court’s founding treaty. The Chamber, composed of Presiding Judge Bruno Cotte (France), Judge Fatoumata Dembele Diarra (Mali) and Christine Van Den Wyngaert (Belgium), will deliver its verdict in an open hearing which will start at 09:00 (The Hague local time).

Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, a Congolese national, is charged with three counts of crimes against humanity and seven counts of war crimes allegedly committed on 24 February 2003 during the attack against the Bogoro village. It is alleged that this attack was carried out by combatants led by Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui and Germain Katanga, that it was part of a widespread attack directed not only against a military camp located in Bogoro village but also against the civilian population of the village.

Information on the trial

Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui were transferred to the ICC detention centre in The Hague (Netherlands) on 17 October 2007 and 7 February 2008, respectively. Their cases were joined on 10 March 2008 and their trial started on 24 November 2009. Closing statements from trial participants were heard from 15 to 23 May 2012. On 21 November 2012, Trial Chamber II decided to sever the charges against Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui and Germain Katanga. The verdict in the case against Germain Katanga will be delivered at a later stage.

Over the course of 239 hearings, the Chamber heard 24 witnesses and experts called by the Office of the Prosecutor, 28 witnesses and experts called by the two Defence teams and two witnesses called by the legal representatives of the victims participating in the proceedings. The Chamber also called two other experts to testify. The judges ensured the respect of the rights guaranteed by the Rome Statute to each of the parties, including the right to cross-examine witnesses.

A total of 366 victims, represented by their legal counsels, were authorised to participate in the proceedings. They have expressed their position on matters heard before the Chamber and were authorised to examine witnesses on specific issues.

The Trial Chamber issued 130 oral decisions and 457 written decisions. The parties and participants before the Chamber exchanged more than 3,300 filings.

Web streaming of the hearing

 

The hearing will be held in open session unless ordered otherwise and can be followed live on the ICC website at:
Courtroom I :

 

AV material

The entire hearing will be uploaded in audio (MPEG-3) and video (MPEG-4) format shortly after on an FTP server for downloading, and on the ICC YouTube channel for viewing. The “In the Courtroom” audio-visual programme will be made available at a later stage.

Attending the hearing

Journalists attending the opening of the hearings are kindly asked to:

  • confirm their attendance by sending an email to [email protected];
  • arrive no later than 08:30 (The Hague local time);
  • use the public entrance located at Regulusweg; and
  • present a valid press identification card.

Media Centre

The Court’s Media Centre will open at 08:00 and will close at 17:30.

The area can seat up to 64 people and includes plasma TV screens; a Wi-Fi Internet service; cards (plug + play) for those without Wi-Fi capability in their PC or laptop; 6 computers with Internet access; and 7 telephones that may be used free of charge for internal calls. For external calls, journalists are advised to use their mobiles or purchase 0800 pre-paid phone cards beforehand. Such cards are available at newsagents and train stations.

Please note that phone cards cannot be obtained in the vicinity of, or at, the ICC. Mobile phones cannot be used in the public gallery.

Photography

Please note that it will not be possible to take photos in the courtroom before the start of the proceedings. However, the Court will provide to all those currently subscribing to receive ICC press releases a link to a selection of high resolution digital photos taken by the photographer (agency pool) during the hearing.

Recording facilities

The Court will provide feed from the Courtroom to the hot-desk area of the Media Centre. The tables in the Media Centre contain plugs for the video and audio feed from the courtroom (4:3, PAL): BNC video output and XLR audio output. You can record from three possible audio channels: 1 - floor, 2 - French and 3 - English. Each table contains an audio plug. If you need to record on two channels, please use another plug at another table for the second channel. The ICC does not have spare cables available for the crews.

Feed for the SNG trucks

SNG trucks can record the signal from the Courtroom from the distribution box placed in the media parking facilities (see below). Please note that there is no power supply available at the car park and that it is therefore necessary to have a generator.

Parking facilities

Media representatives can use the parking facilities located at the intersection of Regulusweg and Wegastraat.

 


For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: [email protected].

 

For information related to audio-visual matters, please contact Violeta Willemsen-Curcic, Producer, at + 31 70 515 8422 or [email protected].

You can also follow the Court’s activities on YouTube and Twitter